conclusions a modified tool to assess methadone treatment response serves to identify patients at high-risk for relapse at a minimal cost, as well as evaluate the relevant physical and psycho-social domains affecting opioid-dependent patients. the great will serve as a useful adjunct to regular clinical assessments, allowing clinicians and researchers to properly assess opioid addiction patient...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus infection is highly prevalent among people who inject drugs. Opioid substitution therapy, the standard treatment for opioid dependence, provides an excellent opportunity for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection due to the close and regular contact between patients and clinicians. However, there is little research on the impact of opioid substitution therapy ...

Manipur and Nagaland in northeast India report an antenatal HIV prevalence of > 1% and the current HIV prevalence among injecting drug users is 24% and 4.5% respectively. Through support from DFID's Challenge Fund, Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) established thirteen drop-in-centres across the two states to deliver opioid substitution treatment with sublingual buprenorphine for 1200 injecti...

BACKGROUND Opioid substitution treatment (OST) is recognised as an effective treatment for opioid dependence. Still, a subgroup of OST users continues to inject drugs. This study examines health risks and criminal activity in a population of needle exchange programme (NEP) participants by comparing those identified as current OST users to (i) those identified as former OST users and (ii) those ...

INTRODUCTION Few general practitioners (GP) prescribe opioid substitution therapy. Our aim was to analyse their previously identified motivating factors by describing their frequency and demographic associations. METHODS An anonymous, cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey on opioid prescribing in pain and dependency was distributed across five New South Wales Divisions of GPs. Questions ...

BACKGROUND To determine, in a region of Switzerland, the duration of retention in opioid substitution treatments with methadone (OSTM), duration of treatment interruptions, probability of re-entry to treatment after a treatment interruption, and associated factors. METHODS A secondary analysis of registry-based data was performed with patients (n = 2880) registered in the methadone treatment ...

methadone is widely being used for opioid substitution therapy. however, the administration of methadone to opioid dependent individual is frequently accompanied by withdrawal syndrome and chemical dependency develops. other than that, it is also difficult to retain patients in the treatment programme making their retention rates are decreasing over time. this article is written to higlights th...

BACKGROUND Opioids are psychoactive analgesic drugs prescribed for pain relief and palliative care. Due to their addictive potential, effort and vigilance in controlling prescriptions is needed to avoid misuse and dependence. Despite the effort, the prevalence of opioid use disorder continues to rise. Opioid substitution therapies are commonly used to treat opioid dependence; however, there is ...

Methadone is widely being used for opioid substitution therapy. However, the administration of methadone to opioid dependent individual is frequently accompanied by withdrawal syndrome and chemical dependency develops. Other than that, it is also difficult to retain patients in the treatment programme making their retention rates are decreasing over time. This article is written to higlights th...